There are not many instances where I just provide a link and tell you to read the article, but in this case, you have to read the entire article to see what's what in this. If you would like the CDAN summary though, it goes like this. Spike Lee had a press conference in Cannes where he decided to play the race card with a number of directors including Clint Eastwood about how they did not include enough African Americans. Clint Eastwood basically told Spike that Spike was full of s**t.
This is not the first time Clint and Spike have got into a race fight. They previously disagreed on the Charlie Parker biopic when Spike felt it should have been directed by someone other than a white guy. I love Spike Lee films. I just think that sometimes people do too much provoking in an attempt to get a reaction, and not enough thinking about what the result of that provocation will be. Spike wants more minorities in films. Cool. So do I. The problem is that he chose the wrong films to argue his point and so then he looks like an idiot and the problem does not move any further towards a solution.
LOVE Clint's Mandela comment...
ReplyDeleteSpike's Do The Right Thing was brilliant, but it's kinda been downhill after that, IMO. Clint must have been pissed. He's usually pretty cool. I love that picture of him, btw, wrinkles, age spots and all.
ReplyDeleteI really hope Spike doesn't keep this going with Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson jumping in.
They need to get together and make a movie.
spike lee was busy doing school daze when eastwood made the movie that a white guy supposedly shouldnt have directed lol....go clint eastwood! hes a true icon with true talent...
ReplyDeletespike needs to stick to documentaries to get his point accross, he did an amazing job with When the Levees Broke.
ReplyDeleteSpike really shouldn't talk his movies propaganded so many black stereotypes...but hey at least he had minorities in them!
Meh. On one hand, Lee is right about the need to correct history. Blacks have existed in this world as long as every other race has, which means Blacks (and other PoC) have a history that intertwines with the 'school taught' 'American' history. Historical bio-pics should reflect this. To do so is to be truthful and responsible.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, Clint is right. Don't cry wolf to cry wolf. Assuming that Clint does his homework, if PoC were not contributors to a particular history, then there is no need to perpetuate tokenism.
An increase in positive images of PoC in all media sources, not just film and television, would be a welcomed change.
Fact:
ReplyDeleteThe single most racist statement in that article was Spike Lee's criticism of a white man directing a black biopic.
Clint was right, shut your face Spike.
ReplyDeleteShooooooooot, I usta like Spike but there was no reason to pick on Clint. There are plenty other director/producers that SHOULD be picked.
Seems to me, SpikeY was looking for a fight.
It also makes me think Spike has small man syndrome = small peepeesyndrome.
Bottom line, Spike Lee is a racist who won't be happy until all of Hollywood is black and making "black" films. Period.
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Eastwood is absolutely correct. And Spike Lee seems like the biggest racist of all. Let's see. White men cannot direct films about black men, but black men can direct anything, and we can have movies with no white men in them, but we can't have movies with no black men in them, even if they are historical movies and no black men were there at the time the history actually occurred. What a crock.
ReplyDeleteUntil everyone gets over looking at color, we'll never get rid of racism.
I'm white, but I would truly hate to be given a job or a role in a movie in order to serve as someone's token whatever instead of getting the job or role on my own merits.
Yep, Spike is full of s**t.
nate, you summed it up for me.
ReplyDelete'do the right thing' and 'when the levees broke' are amazing films, but i gave up on lee's narrative projects a long time ago -- he's just such a fucking misogynist.
Bird was brilliant, better than ANYTHING Spike Lee has ever done. I like some of Spike's movies but he doesn't think before he opens his mouth and does his cause more harm than good. Yeah, just like Jesse, and Al, two people nobody normal would want to be associated with, but he's getting to be more like them all the time.
ReplyDeletegranted, this entire thing with lee and eastwood was not productive, the fact remains that these films (like most in hollywood) are extremely white-washed. historical accuracy in "historically accurate" films is an amazing, but extemely rare, accomplishment.
ReplyDeleteit is disturbing how many roles that portray people of (every) color have gone to white actors because it's supposedly not what america wants to see.
I dig that Clint spoke his mind and didn't try to apologize away.
ReplyDeleteSpike is a moron
Letters From Iwo Jima was about the Iwo Jima battle from the standpoint of the Japanese soldiers. I guess Spike wanted that huge contingent of Japanese black soldiers to be represented. Can we really blame him?
ReplyDeleteI really think Clint Eastwood has a point. And I couldn't agree moore with Ent on the last four sentences of his article.
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